Some other shows ended.
Fanfare of Adolescence got less interesting as it went on with its hideous CGI horses and uninteresting characters. One of it's weirder crimes is putting in a clear Boys Love angle in the first episode which is completely dropped for most of the series. Then in the last episode the audience is teased with it and it's sort of there in metaphor but it's some fucking weak sauce. Look, I'm not a big BL fan but I can think of two shows that turned out to be dull disappointments where the hope of a romantic angle promised to make it more interesting and it never delivered. I knew Fanfare wasn't going to pull the trigger but the nerve of them to pretend in a completely not tongue-in-cheek manner is the final insult. That said, in my head cannon, his "passing of the horse talking powers" (don't ask) means they fucked.
Deaimon ends on an inconclusive note but it's OK, it was thoroughly pleasant throughout. I won't go out of the way to plug this baking slice of life comedy but it has been a consistent source of pleasure this season, even if it never stood out strongly beyond being amiable. It did what it did well.
Heroines Run the Show was a disappointment and I hate the message that there is apparently NOTHING AT ALL WRONG with idol culture right now and it's OK for fans to expect to have their idols be completely chaste dedicated only to THEM and they must remain eternally faithful. It put a bad taste in an otherwise cute show. I wish the show was better because I like the lead, a bumpkin with chunky brows and a never-say-die attitude.
Love After World Domination hasn't been the strongest comedy of the season but it does have VERY stiff competition. It's not perfect... but it's pluses far outweigh its minuses and while on occasion it has a weaker section, it is largely funny and the co-leads are a winning couple, two thick-headed sweethearts navigating first love in a supportive and loving manner. The funny thing is it's a little horny from time to time but also mostly very wholesome... BUT then the penultimate episode goes full tilt "the creator really wants to get his kink off his chest" and the last episode tries to give us a bigger story but it's one of my least favourite, with the smaller stuff working better. Still, I hope we get a little more down the line.
The Executioner and Her Way of Life is a weird little journey. It starts off as an isekai show with a twist but the twist isn't revolutionary. All the same, it was interesting to keep going and I was all in at the halfway point. But one of the things I liked is that mostly it didn't feel the need to do edgy stuff and then in the last episode is a lot of visuals of an evil child mutilating herself and in all honesty, even that aside, I was a little less interested, though it has some interesting promise for later stories.
Ya Boy Kongming! ended it's 100,000 likes arc pretty well. I felt the build up was a little long for me but maybe that's because Kongming himself doesn't really scheme for a while. But the payoff is pretty good, and I like while we get a great, clever scheme, it all comes down to faith in the person you are supporting. I do hope we get more of this down the line, this show is a pleasure.
Spy x Family had an ending that really wasn't. Obviously, we weren't heading to a big end but even that, the series had no coda or big promise or last episode element to feel like a wrap up. Instead, it stayed the course and with the course being so good and it's popularity all but with a second season in the fall, that's fine. I will say that the two segments that make the episode due are well balanced. Both have spy and family but the first is more spy and the second is more family and it's all sweet.
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War will get a "
new anime" though they haven't been clear if that means a new season or a movie or something else. As I understand it, the manga itself has a tonal shift from here on out. If they were to end it here, I actually would have been satisfied. The big question was if the show was going to chicken out on the promise of a confession or it finally will and we have our answer and it is mostly satisfying. There's an element of "the more things change" and the characters realize they haven't entirely gotten what they wanted but it's more than mere progress. But more than that, the show is still sweet and funny and it lets them be cool and complete hot messes all at once and I found it satisfying. I'm glad we are getting more in some format but this season might be, if not it's overall strongest, certainly it's most assuredly and ambitiously directed.
Meanwhile, I looked ahead for the next season and this summer.... it looks rough, to be honest. A few things I'm excited for but still. Even the Science Saru show preview left me a little cold (mostly because it's social media-inspired show feels a little on the nose but I'm sure it will look good and I'm definitely open to it surprising me). There is a new Shadows House season and a Dr. Stone special but most of the other sequels I don't care and this season has a surprising number of shows that feel like throwbacks to the late 90s/early 2000s horny and/or harem romantic comedy era. Heck, some of them seem to be bleeding into the isekai (yeah, some already had harem stuff but there is an element that feels distinctly old school about it now) creating a perfect storm of "not for me, thanks."
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